Chapter 101 : Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Variable (2)

Gulp-

The brilliantly shining new star was so dazzling that Wisu, without realizing it, downed the Yaozi Xuequ he had been savoring.

“Heeum-”

At the fragrance of the Yaozi Xuequ that passed down his throat, Wisu let out a hum without realizing it.

Taking out the Yaozi Xuequ to offset his complicated feelings was an excellent choice.

However, he knew that just because his complicated feelings had subsided, it did not mean the flow of the heavenly energy would change.

“This is not good.”

The star, which he didn't even know existed, no, which had clearly not existed, had now grown as large as the stars of the five great Divine Demons.

On the contrary, perhaps its light was now even more brilliant than that of the five great Divine Demons.

It was the reason why Wisu’s mood could not improve even after turning the misfortune of the Yin Blood into a blessing.

The lament was brief.

“Give me a cup as well.”

The non-existent Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang was, at some point, sitting in front of Wisu.

“You have arrived.”

Wisu accepted this strange event calmly.

As long as he had decided to look at the same place as the Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang, the path he walked was also not ordinary in the first place.

Ssk-

Seol Cheon-sang did not answer Wisu's greeting and held out his cup to Wisu.

But Wisu put down the Yaozi Xuequ he was holding.

“No.”

“Why?”

“It is a waste.”

“Was it not I who gave it to you?”

“Therefore, it is mine.”

Seol Cheon-sang smirked at Wisu's answer. It was a rare and precious sight.

“I will pay its price, so give me a cup.”

“With what will you pay the price?”

“I will grant you a wish.”

The conversation between the two flowed without a hitch, as if they had made a promise beforehand.

In any case, at the Heavenly Demon's words, the frown on Wisu's brow, which had been furrowed, smoothed out.

His god had bestowed a bottle, and now he would grant a wish for a single cup. It was a deal that would definitely leave a profit.

“Will you grant any wish?”

“If it is something I can grant.”

Drip-drip-

Wisu, who had nodded his head, poured the Yaozi Xuequ for Seol Cheon-sang.

Gulp.

Unlike Wisu, who had only wet his lips, Seol Cheon-sang drank the liquor coolly.

“Good.”

With a short comment, Seol Cheon-sang's gaze fell on Wisu.

“What is your wish?”

Wisu answered without hesitation.

“Please erase the new star.”

“Hahaha.”

At Wisu's unhesitating request, the Heavenly Demon laughed out loud.

Wisu also smiled faintly, facing his lord.

It was Seol Cheon-sang.

He was the Heavenly Demon.

He was the supreme ruler of all demons.

And he was Wisu's god.

Therefore, Wisu could know.

The fact that the Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang had already known Wisu's wish.

The answer that came after the laughter was…….

“Impossible.”

It was a firm refusal.

***

“Is it impossible to erase the new star?”

“It would not be impossible.”

“Is it very difficult?”

“If you think about it, it wouldn't be that difficult either.”

At the Heavenly Demon's answer, Wisu quietly nodded his head.

A task difficult for the Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang, that was truly something that was not easy to even imagine.

“Then please erase it. I gave you a cup of liquor, didn't I?”

“Impossible.”

At that firm voice, Wisu smiled faintly and continued.

“May I know the reason?”

At Wisu's question, the Heavenly Demon's gaze moved and scanned his own body.

“I cannot shake it off just yet.”

Soon after, the Heavenly Demon's gaze wandered in the empty air.

“There are many eyes that cannot be avoided.”

Wisu quietly nodded his head.

“Is that so.”

The Heavenly Demon also just quietly nodded his head.

In truth, Wisu did not understand clearly.

He did not know exactly what could not be shaken off, and what eyes could not be avoided.

He also could not understand his words that it was not difficult, yet at the same time ‘impossible’. If he had just said 'I don't want to,' he would have at least understood it easily.

Although Wisu could see the heavenly energy, the world that the Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang looked at was an unknown territory even to Wisu.

But he did not continue with his questions. This was because there was no need to know clearly.

This was because Seol Cheon-sang's words were always right, so all he had to do was believe and follow.

In any case, the conclusion was reached.

The Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang could not grant Wisu's wish.

This is because he knows that the supreme ruler of all demons never makes empty promises.

It is said that the words of Seol Cheon-sang, who straddles the realm of a demigod, contain the law, so it is certain.

In any case, it would be right to think that it wasn't that Seol Cheon-sang had refused the wish, but that Wisu had requested a wish that could not be granted.

In the first place, the condition for a cup of Yaozi Xuequ was 'a wish that can be granted'.

It was just an unfortunate turn of events for Wisu.

He thought it was a profitable deal, but it seems it wasn't.

But it was okay.

This was because he still had a move left.

“I will command the Hidden Shadow.”

“That is under your authority.”

Hidden Shadow.

They were his limbs, commanded directly by Mashintong Wisu.

Although it would be difficult to call them a purely military organization, they were the hidden swords of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, not lacking even when compared to the five great demonic families.

“How is it?”

Wisu asked cautiously, as if receiving a divination from a shaman.

“It would not be bad.”

“Is that so.”

Wisu knew.

The fact that the Heavenly Demon had not answered with 'good'.

But he would act.

“It would be good to create a variable somehow.”

Wisu began to twist the grand plan modeled after the heavenly energy with his own plan.

Although he was Wisu who stole the heavenly energy, it wasn't that he didn't believe in the power of humans.

***

“It's been a while here too.”

The place where Wisu, who had descended from the Skyscraper, headed was a nameless mountain that could be called a remote part of the Tianshan Mountains.

It was late at night, the sun having already set, but he had turned his steps that were heading back to his residence.

It was to practice the words of the ancient sages, 'Strike while the iron is hot'.

The Tianshan Mountains are vast.

Not only are they vast, but they are also rugged and high.

Although we conveniently say that the Tianshan Mountains are the home of the Divine Cult, this vast and rugged mountain range as a whole cannot be the home of the Divine Cult.

This is because there are many areas in the rugged Tianshan Mountains where humans simply cannot live.

It would be right to express the Tianshan Mountains as simply the domain of the Divine Cult.

The places where the cult members live, such as the main headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the residences of the five great demonic families, are basin terrains scattered throughout the rugged Tianshan Mountains.

People can live there because it is flat and water gathers.

The basins also have the advantage of being surrounded by towering peaks, so their locations are not easily exposed.

There is no better place for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult to establish its base.

Even in a basin, it would be just as barren and destitute, but the difference between a place that is barely livable and a place that is completely unlivable is also great.

If Wisu's guess is correct, the area where the Divine Cult members roam would be about one-tenth of the Tianshan Mountains.

Tat!

Wisu performed his lightness art with a light body movement.

Although it was a dangerous place even during the day, Wisu's footwork as he walked late at night was unhindered.

Tat!

The place where Wisu was currently walking was within the domain of the Divine Cult, but it was a truly deserted mountain where no development had been carried out at all.

Due to the rugged slopes, it was a place that could not be reached except by winged beasts, so it was a place with no human paths, let alone animal trails.

Tat!

As if there were a set sign, Wisu unfolded his swift lightness art and moved far, far away.

The place where Wisu's steps, which had been running for a long time, reached, was a thatched cottage bathed in moonlight.

The thatched cottage, set in the middle of nature, was assimilated into nature like a tree with a thick trunk.

“Ahem.”

The moment Wisu, who had cleared his throat, approached the door of the thatched cottage.

“What brings you here?”

A voice was heard from behind Wisu.

When Wisu reflexively turned his head, a man was standing there.

Judging from the man's location and appearance, it seemed he had been following Wisu all along.

It meant that a martial artist of Wisu's caliber had been helplessly tailed.

He must have completely erased his presence and mimicked Wisu's steps exactly.

If he had not opened his mouth himself, Wisu would probably have never noticed his existence.

It was right to call it a stealth art that had reached the extreme.

“It has been a while.”

When Wisu, who had recognized the man's existence, greeted him, the man just bowed his head silently.

Even though he was clearly seeing the man's actions with his eyes, he could not feel any presence.

That demeanor resembled a dead person more than a living one.

Anyway…….

The man's presence was similar to that of the Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang, yet quite different.

“Still as unpleasant as ever.”

It was especially so in that it made the other person feel uncomfortable.

“I was born this way.”

The man replied.

Because there was no rise or fall in his voice, no precursor of emotion could be felt.

Perhaps that was the reason.

The reason why the man's stealth art felt particularly unpleasant.

But it was okay.

To be precise, it had to be okay.

This was because the man in front of him had outstanding capabilities even among the Hidden Shadow, who could be called Wisu's limbs.

One could not be called the Chief Strategist of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult if one were to discard a precious long-term piece just because it was a little unpleasant.

“I have come to command the Hidden Shadow.”

At Wisu's words, the man who had nodded his head passed by Wisu's side.

Creak-

Unlike the man, who made no presence or sound at all, the door of the thatched cottage opened with a rough sound.

“Come in.”

“I will.”

Wisu followed the man into the thatched cottage.

The thatched cottage, which had looked small, had a neat and spacious interior, unlike its appearance.

A neat interior meant that there was no one inside the thatched cottage, but Wisu was feeling the secret gazes from various places.

“Show yourselves.”

Ssssk-

As soon as Wisu's command was given, three figures appeared in the center of the thatched cottage and prostrated themselves before Wisu.

In response, the man who had entered with him also prostrated himself.

Although there was no reverence in the man's prostration, Wisu did not mind.

This was because he knew that sometimes, formality precedes essence.

“It has been a long time for all of you.”

Wisu was the head of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's intelligence unit, the Hidden Shadow.

Although they only followed the Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang, since that Heavenly Demon had personally ordered them to receive Wisu's commands, it was correct that Wisu was the head.

“We greet our lord.”

Since the Demonic Path, which valued hierarchy according to the principle of the survival of the fittest, was the law, the Hidden Shadow could not be an exception to that law.

The term 'strong' did not only refer to martial prowess, so Wisu was indeed strong. The Heavenly Demon's favor was his strength.

It was the reason why the Hidden Shadow members had obediently prostrated themselves.

“Please give your command.”

That same toneless voice asked for his business.

For a moment, Wisu recalled the conversation he had had with the Heavenly Demon Seol Cheon-sang.

-What do you plan to do with the Hidden Shadow?

-I must cut off the limbs.

-Which ones?

-The Rogues' Guild, which has meddled without sense, would be a good example.

-Not bad.

Gathering his thoughts, Wisu asked.

“What is the progress with the Rogues' Guild?”

Wisu's question omitted context, but the man answered without difficulty.

“We have succeeded in making contact with the promising candidate, Geombigak.”

“Contact?”

“We haven't brainwashed him, but it would not be an exaggeration to say we have him under control.”

“Good work.”

Contact with the Rogues' Guild.

It was one of the secret plans that Wisu had prepared with great effort over a long period of time to exclude the Evil Faction Alliance from the Great War.

It was also the reason why he was not greatly disappointed when the plan to throw the Zhejiang province, one of the main financial sources of the Evil Faction Alliance, into chaos by detonating the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Extreme Blood Treasure in the remote part of the Blazing Flower Sect had failed.

This was because the Rogues' Guild could be called the eyes and ears of the Evil Faction Alliance, so just by taking control of the Rogues' Guild in the shadows, the Evil Faction Alliance would fall into great chaos.

A plan should originally be drawn up in two or three layers like this.

“Did the prideful Geombigak come over obediently?”

“The stiff-necked fellow was the first to bow his head. My guess is that he cannot handle the growth of the Mistress of the Flower Moon Pavilion.”

The target of recruitment was Geombigak of the Rogues' Guild.

It was because he was the most promising candidate for the next leader, but at the same time, it was also because he was the most like the Demonic Path.

The inflexible beggars or the Mistress of the Flower Moon Pavilion, who acted noble unlike a member of the Evil Faction, did not fit with the Demonic Path.

It was right not to touch such people in the current situation, as they were difficult to recruit unless force was used.

Since they had finally succeeded in making contact, Wisu's choice of Geombigak was not wrong.

Thanks to recruiting him, he was able to blow his nose without using his hands, so it could be called a satisfactory result.

“We must eliminate the Mistress of the Flower Moon Pavilion.”

“Yes.”

At Wisu's words, the man did not ask for the reason.

He was the very model of a reliable tool, as he did not question his master's will.

“Kill her?”

“No.”

However, only a true master can show the right path to his tool.

“Just give strength to Geombigak. In the process, the existence of our cult must not be revealed.”

It was not yet time for the cult to rise.

If he rashly revealed his demonic nature, the giant known as the Peerless Power Emperor would also stand on the opposite side of the Demonic Path.

That would result in more losses than gains, so it could hardly be called an excellent plan.

“I will not explain the method. You will do well on your own.”

Even as Wisu finished speaking, there was no change in the man's expression.

“Can you do it?”

“If you order it, we do it.”

That's right. If ordered, they do anything. That is the Hidden Shadow.

“I will trust you with it.”

“Yes.”

“Good work.”

Leaving a satisfied smile, Wisu left the thatched cottage.

Because he was such an impressive person, the man's afterimage did not leave his mind.

The man's name was Ma Pyeong-sam.

As can be inferred from his surname, he was a martial artist from the Soaring Shadow Ma Clan, one of the five great demonic families.

He was also a naturally gifted assassin, befitting the name 'Soaring Shadow'.

The fact that he had not ascended to the position of the Soaring Shadow Divine Demon was due to political issues, not a lack of personal martial prowess, so he would not disappoint Wisu's expectations.